


The Bucky Barnes Handbook for Nonstandard Issue Bodies: how customized people kick ass in a factory setting world

by aireagoir



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: 2016 Summer Olympics, Ableism, Bipolar Disorder, Blindness, Bucky's Arm, Deaf, Depression, Fluff, Humor, Mental Health Issues, Mental Illness, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Other, Paralysis, Physical Disability, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prosthesis, Silly, Walking Canes, Wheelchairs, throwing a car
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-06-03 03:52:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6595519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aireagoir/pseuds/aireagoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AO3, welcome to an informal, non-judgy place to talk (and laugh) about people who have bodies that weren't standard from the factory. We use the word disability, but please feel free to use the comments to add other language you'd like to include. See, Bucky and I had a chat. He knows I have a huge soft spot for him (and Steve, but we don't tell him because EGO) since we have some very important things in common. He knows I'd give anything for even a drop of serum. I know the torso it's attached to is a whiny little shit but my left arm is top notch.  10/10, would have two arms again.</p><p>We agree operating tables and attempted memory resets are NOT happiness compliant. We agree looking at scans of why your brain is so weird is pretty sweet. We agree compassion is a generous gift, pity is bullshit. MOST importantly, we agree that all our mission assists that let us overcome the non-standard features are great people and we love them very much for help and kindness.<br/>Comment, cut, paste, share, link, skywrite, link to Tumblr, tweet... If you identify as non-standard issue, come on out and play.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Basics

 *************************

I wanted to have another short, direct communication with all of you, my friends that type to me, and Aireagoir agreed to submit this. Jarvis refuses to post for me on this site. He says Stanley could sue for copy write in fringes. Whoever Stanley is, he has seriously terrible taste. Have you seen fringe in real life? Steve wore fringe on a cowboy outfit for Halloween and I called him the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Mission Assist Aireagoir and I have something in common: we both look young and yet people have seen our bodies and minds are not standardized model. This is apparently sometimes labelled being a “person with a disability” although I think being able to throw a car is a serious fucking ability upgrade. Aireagoir didn’t get serum; ability to throw a car at people improbable.  She also can’t lift her own cat without two supportive devices and some strategizing. However; over 40% of people in her state say they plan to vote for Donald Trump and she has a multiracial family, so if she totally loses her shit she might try tipping a Mini. _EDIT: Trump won my state by an enormous percentage. I couldn't find a mini, but I successfully started a flamewar by saying I was proud, as a woman, that at least I had the CHANCE to vote for a woman. That's never happened in my state before, even waaaaay back when Elizabeth Dole, a trailblazer, tried. Result: 7 friends lost, 1 gained, had to define "flamewar" for own mother, no vehicles harmed. Continue._

We agree PTSD and other mental illness can be a major life-altering bitch, but if you’ve had the misfortune of living through something so unbelievably awful it literally warped the way your brain coped to maximize survival, then let’s give your brain a round of applause! It adapted to save you. Because it knew you were worth saving. And it DOES know, because it has been with you since wheels up.

It’s not our fault our brains went haywire. Sometimes it’s a perpetrator’s fault. Sometimes it’s a sad case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes you’re born that way. People who think needing a doctor for your brain makes you lesser should not be trusted with your heart, soul or peanut butter cookie recipe. They are deficient. There’s never shame in asking for an instruction manual for modifications you didn’t order.

If you’re like us, (physically, mentally or emotionally,) and have recently found yourself wanting company, a chat, or ideas for keeping your relationship with “able-bodied” people fresh, we hope you'll comment or come hang out.

 

 

  **Bucky Barnes' Incomplete Guide to Body Modification Acceptance and Having Fun with Standard Issue Humans.**

 1. SURPRISE! 

Know they’re going to get embarrassed when they first meet you and realize you’re not what they expect. To put everyone at ease, be equally surprised.

Question: You’re blind?!?

Answer: You can SEE?

Question: You have bipolar disorder?

Answer: I do? THAT’S AMAZING! (Throw off your clothes, run down the street in unbridled jubilation, then crawl into fetal position and rock slowly while crying and wondering if you’ll die alone). Or maybe that's how the subject came up. It's still cool to be surprised.

Question: You need a wheelchair?

Answer: Isn't wanting it enough?

 

 

2\. Lie like a fucking rug.

This isn’t for everybody. Some of you may be very proud that you, for example, lost a limb fighting in Iraq, or snatched your dingo from the jaws of a baby. Or Captain Steven Grant Rogers didn't just nip down and take a quick peek after you fell off a goddamned train, a train you were on at his request, after you had protected his ungrateful skinny ass from every 14 year old thug in all of Lower New York. DIDN'T EVEN REQUEST A SEARCH PARTY.  **But.**  If you’re in the mood to dick with super-rude people, you have the right to a good origin story.

Question: What happened to you?

Answer: My copy of the Kama Sutra left out a VERY important word on page 32.

Question: Did somebody do that to you?

Answer: Yeah, it’s what people do to strangers that ask “Did somebody do that to you?”

Question: Does it hurt?

Answer: Not as much as a complete disregard for conversational etiquette.

Question: How did that happen?

Answer: Very. Very. Very. Very. Very. Very. Very. Very. Very. Very. Slowly.

Question: No, really, how did it happen?

Answer: HYDRA.

Question: I’m for real though, how did it happen?

Answer: Horrifically. Thank you for the reminder.

Question: Can I touch it?

Answer: You can do when I smack you in the balls with it.

Question: Can you still have children?

Answer: Yes, but I have to braise them til they practically fall off the bone.

Question: How do you…have relations?

Answer: Same way I always did. Tied to the back of a Chevy Corsica, getting pissed on while I insert the beads, then having three pygmy girls in go go boots stomp on my ass while I rim a leather dyke named Kenneth.

 

 

3\. Discover and marvel at the plasticity of time and comprehension.

You will meet people who Just. Can’t. Get it. Bless their little hearts, but they seem surprised when you show up with the same problem every time. Like, you’ve worn the same shirt into the office every day this month, you accidentally forget today isn’t Disabled Friday. Aireagoir runs an errand weekly to a store where the woman says “Aireagoir, are you still walking with that darn cane?” It has been 14 months. The woman knows why she needs it, and it would be super obvious she would quit using it if she didn't need it, and as a _special added bonus..._ Aireagoir has even told her "thanks for asking, but when I don't need it any more I'll just say so."  Every week.

**Every week.**

 I call these people Goldfish. They have a three second memory. Standard identification of Goldfish is easy. These will be the people that you use the word ‘still’ in italics.

       Example: Oh, are you _still_ having trouble with your stomach?

It would be accurate to reply “yes, I am _still_ having trouble with my stomach, as you can see by the fact that I require this colostomy bag, customized feeding tube and I have been using this walker for over a decade now.” But this will destroy your soul, because the Goldfish have three second memories. Unless you’re willing to put it on a T-shirt, and I realize for a few of you out there that might actually be a pretty good option, you’re simply going to have to learn to put up with the Goldfish. Unless you can throw a car at them. Protip: I like to throw assuming it will flip down and smash people with the top, but Bruce says if you can get the grip you take out a lot more at once launching it football-quarterback style.

 

 

4\. Get kinky in bed.

Not because of this. I mean in general. As long as everyone involved is an informed, consenting adult, I say it’s nobody else’s business why you want made-to-scale wax replicas of all of the Golden Girls.

     4.5 Let sex be what you decide sex is. Sex is bodies, and that can be really complicated due to pain, non-compliant body parts, weight, fear, shame, gravity. Naturally, if you don't want sex of any sort, then you do you. Or not do you. But if you want it, and bodies can be so fucking fucked up about fucking, consider this: tell your lover you want to redefine sex. Sex is fingers, or sex is awesomely filthy pictures together, or sex is letting somebody grind against your rockhard metal thigh while they talk dirty. Sex can be putting things in other things. But it doesn't have to be, and you're not obligated to restrict it. 

     4.6 Uh...consider what happens if you get, I don't know, lube, or raspberry jam or whatever lodged in your prosthesis. Those seeds will jam in there for weeks.

            4.6 a   I hear. 

 

 

5\. If kids stare, let them. They probably don't care, they just have a question.

 

6\. If an adult stares, let them. _However_.

There are always going to be people who can't look away from your scars, or whisper about your time in "that ward," or look down to see you're in a wheelchair and then somehow figure because your head is lower things are somehow weird to talk now. Whatever the jackassery is, deal with it. Then, as the interaction is coming to a closure, take a quick but obvious look at their junk and snicker the second you've turned away from them. Yes, it makes you a 7 year old brat, but it is REALLY funny when expertly applied. 

 

7\. Be all that you can be.

Most of all, remember, there are tons of us non-standard humans out there. I am not for one second suggesting that if necessary, we will rise up and overtake the “normals."

But.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT.

… if someday you get tired of feeling like you’re weird just because you have a severe mental illness, or were born without a leg, or you’re in constant pain and nobody knows why, or you need a cane, or use sign language, or were burned in a fire, or lost a foot to an IED, I invite you to imagine this: as an army, we’d look Cool. As. FUCK, right? Look at us! I wouldn’t want to fight us. Something already tried to fuck with us and we’re still here.


	2. Nonstandard Humans with Issues You Can't See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's face it, the metal arm ain't the only major malfunction Buck's got going on.

 

Obviously we here at the Bucky Barnes Handbook (BBH) have a lot to say on the subject of visible disabilities (your wheelchairs, your sign languages, your giant metal arms with a big Soviet star in the middle of it) but today, let’s focus a little on what can’t be seen.

Nonstandard Issue bodies that have problems you can’t see with the naked eye can present some interesting challenges, because for starters people may be inclined to believe you don’t even have the nonstandard issue. People with mental illness can run into this a lot. Now, the good news is, to get a second look at that particular problem, sometimes all you have to do is cover yourself in chunky peanut butter* and let your fabulous self run around in the nearest public library for an hour or two. It seems once you’ve done that, more than enough people are willing to listen to you about some things you think aren’t going well upstairs. But dammit, why do we have to let it get that far?

* _Test for peanut allergies, because safety first!_

 

It seems, at least in the USA, there are a few reasons.

  1. Sexism is certainly one; a woman is just over-reacting. No, she’s having a full-blown attack of mania, but people don’t want to say that, because then you are obligated to do boring and expensive things like care for her, get her tests, prescribe medication, ask if she has a support network, blah blah blah. I mean, you can completely see why it’s easier to assume she’s just a typical, hysterical broad who can’t keep her shit together. Aireagoir has a policy of seeing only female psychiatrists. Frankly, she just CBA (Can’t Be Arsed) to explain that her ladybits don’t negate the RAGING subscriptions she has to several mental health issues. If you don’t like that, take it up with her ancestors. They got together and made her, and, honestly, they could be fucking nuts. I mean, wow, we had some _interesting_ Christmases.
  2. Veteran status is a big one right now. Lots of countries declared they had enough money to send soldiers to war, but they forgot to count all the pennies they should set aside to make certain they can care for those folks after they come back from serving in those wars. Bucky gets hot under the collar about this one. Literally. He likes to go to Capitol Hill and knock some Senators through their windows, then the metal heats up and he gets sweaty on the left side. Really, it’s no big deal, but worth mentioning that if you’re going for a metal prosthetic think about budgeting for cotton dress shirts. Silk would breathe well too, but it’s so delicate. Also, if you can afford silk, you’re probably rich enough you didn’t go fight when they did the fighting. You were someplace else, doing Not Fighting. There are very ill people who wait YEARS for help from the VA. If we can’t help, with counselors, group therapy, psychiatrists, medication, therapy pets and more then we couldn’t afford the war at all, could we? No, we could NOT. We OWE the people who get hurt a chance to heal.
  3. You can have trouble getting treated for mental illness if you’re not white. If you think this is the only area where being non-white is affecting your treatment (at least in the USA), then we don’t need to ask any other questions…you’re definitely delusional. Come on in, have some cocoa, and there’s a giant battery of tests we’d like you to take, m’kay?



But…what the hell do we DO? How do we embrace that there are some things you can’t see, but are just as real and just as serious?

Or…how the hell do we not do anything? When is it all right to _just be_? To say, “I am living with mental illness and today that’s what I can handle?”

Bucky’s gonna jump in on Chapter 3, he’s taking a mental break to leave his body and simply not be present in the world, and you know what? That’s okay. TOTALLY understandable. Back in a jiffy with more thoughts, and, as always, anyone who identifies as Nonstandard Issue (or if you’re friends or family of NSI people) leave thoughts/comments below!

Or don’t.

We ain’t gonna judge. You do you.

I would ask, if you’re going the peanut butter/library route, please slather up outside; I don’t want a problem with ants in this Handbook.

<3 <3 More soon, Aireagoir and Bucky


	3. What to do with your brain when it's not being wiped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky here-- I'm currently the world's leading authority on how hard it can be to get your brain back after people have being wiping it cleaner than the windshield of a Volvo. Let's focus on brain health for a bit. No matter how bad it seems, as long as it's keeping you alive, then we've got hope things can get better.

Hi all, Bucky back again after a mental health vacation. Lots of people in the USA got shot. It seems to do with skin color and status as a police officer. I don’t do well with that. It makes me think of when I was the one hurting people. I’m not that guy anymore. But, it still feels like I’m made of squishy stuff, and when I watch the news, that squishy stuff wants to lay in bed and wrap around Steve like goo and not let anybody I love go outside. For several weeks.

So, before the stuff I really want to say, I want to mention I’m not a doctor. The problem is, a guy that looks a lot like me played a flight surgeon in a movie about astronauts. This has led to people thinking I have a medical degree. I don’t. I’m saying stuff that means something to me, but I have, like, no degrees. I briefly enrolled in art school in the late 1930s. And I speak a ton of languages I don’t remember learning, plus I can tell you that your living room couch is positioned entirely wrong. If you keep it there, it’s 80% more vulnerable to sniper fire than if you put it against the other wall. How do I know?

Think about how much you really want the answer to that, champ.

Moving on.

People can have short-term problems with their brains. They’re serious as hell, don’t misunderstand me. Grief from a death, adjustments to a very new living situation, hormonal imbalances, all that stuff is major. If somebody goes to get help for that, all I’ve gotta add is, “Good luck and go to it.”

That said, I wanna talk about stuff in our heads that lasts longer than that. For some people it’s years. Numbers vary, but the National Alliance on Mental Illness says about 9% of people have disorders that can straight up make your life hell (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depression). That means there’s a fair number of folks in my NSIA (you’re my Non-Standard Issue Army now. I haven’t worked out a uniform yet but everyone will be training based on the best of their abilities and/or willingness to kill Chitauri) that have mental illnesses. So, if there are so many of us, why do people still worry it makes them weak or strange to discuss it?

Ah, fuck. OK, in the interests of total honesty, Steve just read that and gave me his official _Captain America Doesn’t Respect Liars, Son_ glare. _**FINE**_.

Stevie, this is for you.

Jerk.

 

I HATE

HATE

HATE

HATE

**HATE** talking about the brain stuff. There’s SO MUCH of it. And it comes out in weird ways, when you don’t want it to, and it’s not easy to tell who to trust with it. Sure, _my_ life is simple: I walk into the Tower, shout “JARVIS, bring me a mentally ill person with whom I may commiserate!” and he just herds Clint, Tony, Nat, Bruce, and, like, anybody else in the area into my dining room and we order pizza and I cry some and say I'm having a day where my brain is crazy. This is no big deal to anyone. Seriously, our cleaning guy has PTSD from fighting on Asgard and the girl who sorts mail was rescued from a horrific forced brothel situation the Hulk found in another dimension. I can’t swing a dead cat without hitting horribly damaged people. Plus, now I gotta punish the sick bastard that killed the cat. But that’s  _my_ life.

Who you all talk to, that’s a good question.

TV tells us bartenders and hairdressers. If you have one, that’s fine, but Nat cuts my hair. When I tell her my problems she makes me give a status report in Russian. Again, if this is already working for you that’s great but I feel like that’s a small percentage of the population as a whole. Correct me if I’m wrong.

What do we do if we're not in the Tower?

In the US the National Alliance on Mental Illness has some good online resources. [NAMI.org.](http://www.nami.org/) I like online. It’s good for days I’m scared couch goo, wrapped around Stevie and not letting anyone I love go outside. Plus, they have a Stigma Free thing happening, and I like that. You tell 'em I sent you, and the Bucky Barnes Non-Standard Issue Army don't do stigma, dammit.

In Canada, the national resource seems to be [www.cmha.ca](http://www.cmha.ca). Canada has a cool deal, where health is important and so they try to make sure people get access to things that will increase/maintain good health. That’s chill. It feels less…James Bond villain-like. In the US, while you’re waiting for the inevitable Bad Guy Monologue, you can get hit by a bus and bankrupted. Canadians treat healthcare more like something that the vast majority of people are entitled to the vast majority of the time. It even reduces risk of BGM (Bad Guy Monologue) death because the stakes aren’t the same for bus-related collisions. It’s a pretty comprehensive system.

The English have a cheery site at <http://www.mind.org.uk/>, but good Gods, these people just had the whole Brexit scare. I’ll be honest, it seems absolutely ripe for a Loki-led invasion right now; there’s a ton going on, people saying they want to change their vote, plus a guy named Boris smack in the middle of it and I’ll be damned but I have NEVER had a good experience with a guy named Boris at the middle of it. Fair? Probably not. But these are my honest experiences and I’ll wear pink panties and call myself Trixie before I back down on that one.

If you have experience getting help from a country not listed here, PLEASE list where, how, and a brief opinion of that particular system. Note: if, at the time you were getting these services, you thought you were King of the World, or flying on a magic carpet, or you were invisible…please take that into account as you relate your experience. Don’t get me wrong! I’m not saying your experience is not welcome here, only that we should take individual accounts as that: individual. For example, you have no idea how badly things go for me when the NYPD asks why I’m wearing all black and a metal facemask, and I tell them it’s cool, I’m friends with Iron Man. It’s like they think they have _to check on that_.

Who would own up to spending time with Tony Stark if they didn’t absolutely have to?

Oh, and along those lines, it’s not that I don’t treasure our chats, because believe me, y’all are a LOT less fucked up about mental health than Natasha. But Aireagoir insists that if you go to any of these sites and find them helpful, you should just say you learned about them online. Personally, I think it would add some much-needed excitement to everybody’s day for you to explain that the Winter Soldier told you it’s always a good time to check in with yourself and make certain you’re running your own best time, that there aren’t any Soviet trigger words or implanted memories in there fucking up your shit.

Aireagoir then says something about that going over like a fart in church, but I tell her dames shouldn’t talk like that and then I get the lecture about sounding like a “Newsie” AGAIN and that lecture **will peel paint** , **it’s so boring**. Even Steve hates the Newsie lecture, and he agrees with everything she says, PLUS tells me I can’t say “dollface" anymore, which is bullshit because he likes it when we're in bed and I call him dollface.

And…I’m about to get my butt kicked for admitting Steve likes that. To wrap up: Stay safe, stay sane, and if you’re having trouble with those, please reach out for a safe place to be not sane. No shame in letting go of sanity for a while, as long as we get ya back.

Later, dollfaces.

 

 

 


	4. Uh, hi. Steve here. Is that okay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I'm not trying to intrude on Bucky's space. I'm asking permission to extend some thoughts on bodies, if I'm welcome.
> 
> If not, you know, say something.

Uh, like I said, Steve here. Geez, this is uncomfortable. Bucky said it was fine for me to add something, but I wanted to be perfectly clear that I'm only here to talk about one specific thing, and, well, I guess it's my thing. You know, childhood conditions. 

It's just that the weather is nice, and I was out, then I remembered all of those days when I wanted _so much_ to be outside, playing ball even though I was terrible at it. I think I was terrible at it because I couldn't really practice, uh, which makes perfect, except we should never pressure people into thinking perfection is a realistic goal because that can lead to its own set of issues...

I'm terrible at this.

Natasha says I'm adorable when I'm like this. Natasha is usually making fun of somebody and I just can't figure out who. I think it's probably me.

Here's what I wanted to say, though: I was so lucky to have Buck. He made me not say Bucky because the rhyme was "gonna make me hurl, Rogers." But see? I have him. I always did, in Brooklyn. He was with me, trying to make it okay that I didn't play ball, even though we all know Bucky would have been a great first baseman, or maybe left field. It's true we did the stuff people generally talk about, like I drew, and he did smoke on the fire escape although to be honest, I think he just liked how it looked a long time before he liked actual cigarettes. But most of the time, we sat there. It wasn't anything you could write about for long. He'd tell me who had new hairstyles, or who was trying to make time with the girls on our blocks. We spent TONS of time making the list about how I was gonna get better. It was always that we'd somehow make my asthma better, because if only I could breathe then I could get stronger, and with that we could fix my heart with lots of exercise and good food we'd have since I didn't need breathing treatments, then we'd find some dream cure for everything else. Once in a while, to be different, we'd start with something silly, like my ear that didn't hear so good, we'd pretend if only we had always known it was a gross lump of wax in there, they could pull it out, then with my two good ears I'd get a job in radio where it didn't matter I couldn't do much walking, or ridiculous stuff like that.

I guess what I'm saying is, it makes so much difference when you have stuff wrong, really wrong, if someone will talk with you. To dream with you. It's not because they don't accept you, but...well, it's not like I walked around Brooklyn so glad I had all this stuff, just so I'd get to meet Dr. Erskine some day. I didn't know I would. And, I know there isn't really a Dr. Erskine out there for lots of people. Holy cow, we've done so much for asthma. But, not so much that kids don't still have some really tough times with other conditions, or diseases, or even cancers and the like. That's, uh, that's probably the best and worst thing about being Captain America. They ask me to meet lots of sick kids, and boy, am I happy I can put a smile on their faces. At the end of that day, well. I wish so hard they all got serum. All of them. If I could take it out so they could get it, I would.

If you've been sick since you were a kid, boy, I can empathize, because it's a LONG TIME. It's every day, all day, even if it's summer, even if it's Christmas, even if you're getting married and want everything to be perfect for once. It can mean people have been making fun of you for as long as you can remember. It can mean you missed out, or even worse...they didn't even let you TRY. I HATED THAT.

If you have a kid that's got a serious problem, I'm so sorry. My ma worked really hard, and I'd bet my shield you do, too.

Uh, I'm not sure I got across what I wanted to say. I mostly wanted to say that it's different with kids. Whether you started having problems as a kid, or you have a kid with a serious condition...it's different. Bucky would give great advice about how to roll up bullies like a ball and bowl them down the street or something. That's not me. Watching him Bowl Bullies is pretty great though. So you know.

I'm offering you a hug. I think that's what I would have wanted, then. I'm offering now, through the Handbook. I'll leave one here, in case you need to come back for it.

((hug))

\-- Steve


	5. Nonstandard Olympians are Kicking Ass and Taking Medals!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to celebrate what a few Non-Standard bodies have been doing down in Rio. See, we've got a few folks GETTING. IT. DONE right now and dammit, I'm excited. If throwing a car is in the mix for 2020, Steve said he'd get me a uniform and explain what a "Wheaties box" is. -- BB

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May contain spoilers for medal wins.

Here are just a few Nonstandard Issue men and women competing right now in Rio. They are in the business of KICKING ASS, and business is damn  _good_.

 

**Cody Miller, USA, 100 m breaststroke _BRONZE AND GOLD MEDALIST!_**

Miller's condition (or "deformity" as he self-identified ) is called pectus excavatum. It puts his chest bones in a different placement than in most people, caving in at the middle; it looks like a crease. It significantly reduces his lung capacity. As a teen he was encouraged to swim because broader shoulders might have a positive impact on his ability to breathe. Miller explained more about the details of his condition on Imgur:

  _My condition puts stress on my respiratory system. Tests have shown that my sunken sternum and odd placement of other bones has caused a reduced lung capacity... To what extent is unknown. Doctors have said my maximum breathing capacity is likely reduced by 12-20%._

Note from Aireagoir: One of my school's former students lives with condition. Having witnessed her struggles, I have this to say: Dude, you had enough air and enough HEART to push your way to a bronze medal in an extremely tight field. Then you gave it your all for the team relay GOLD! Really well done, man. You prove our bodies can be worked with, can adapt, can still dream the very big dreams. You're a commissioned officer in the NSI Army and we salute you!

 

 

**Zahra Nemati, Iran, archery, top 64 and a _whole other Oympics coming up!_**

__ Nemati, who was the opening ceremony flag bearer for Iran, is the only Iranian woman to win an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympics and the first Iranian athlete to be named athlete of the year by the International Olympic Committee. She loved tae kwon do as a child but she was paralyzed by a car accident at age 8. She took up archery and is, in Clint Barton's exact words because we interviewed him, "a stone cold bad ass." She took a gold and a bronze at the 2013 para-archery international competition in Bangkok.

 After the standard issue Olympics, she will compete in the Paraolympics in Rio. Good luck, Ms. Nemati!

 

 

 

>   **Michael Phelps, USA, swimmer extraordinaire with _19 Olympic gold medals and he's not done!_**

>  Everyone on the planet knows about Phelps and his phenomenal medal records (19 gold and counting as this is written) but not everyone knows about his Nonstadard Issue status: yep, Michael is one of us! He is on record as being treated for "severe ADHD" (his words). In "Everyday Health" Phelps' mom Debbie said 
> 
>  "Our pediatrician had watched Michael grow up and was familiar with his hyperactivity. He suggested  testing for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder when Michael was 9. We didn't have the luxury of a  community of ADHD moms that's available now, so we relied on information from our doctor, the health  system, and the assessments of Michael's school performance that I received from teachers. That's when he  was diagnosed with ADHD and began taking medication to treat it... My reaction was, "Now we have to do something about it." We knew then that Michael needed help and that we could become knowledgeable about his condition so that we could provide that assistance.
> 
> Phelps has stated he needs to adhere to his preswim routine with headphones to maintain focus which doesn't always come easily to him. Way to go, Michael... the entire Non-Standard Army supports your quest to prove invisible conditions are very real, very workable and don't mean you can't be the very, very **best in the world.**
> 
>  
> 
> **__ **
> 
> **Kathleen Baker, USA, 100 m backstroke _, _SILVER MEDALIST!__**
> 
> Kathleen Baker, a woman with Crohn's disease, has had to battle with terrible abdominal pain, aversion to food (think about how many calories swimmers burn every day) and exhaustion that has limited her ability to practice. Through it all, she never lost her desire to compete. Baker has said that she needed to work extra-hard to find doctors that saw her as a patient that is also a world-class athlete. We're so glad you never compromised your dreams, Ms. Baker. At only 19 years old you've been candid about living with Crohn's and you're a rolemodel to millions of people with severe abdominal issues!
> 
>  
> 
> **Natalia Partyka, Poland, table tennis. Competes August 12th.**
> 
> Partyka is a three time Paralympics gold medallist, will be competing in the team event for Poland. She played in the Olympics four years ago. Partyka was born without a right hand and forearm stated: An inspirational quote from her:
> 
> _“I will play just in team event in Rio, but anyway I am very proud and happy that I will compete at the Olympic Games for a third consecutive time. I hope that this shows all disabled athletes that impossible is nothing.”_
> 
> _ _
> 
>  
> 
> **Melissa Tapper, Australia, table tennis.**
> 
> Tapper was born with severe nerve damage in her right arm. Those of us that have had nerve damage can tell you it's often excruciatingly painful. In an interview with "The Australian" website, she stated
> 
> _“My arm plays a big role in having to work a bit harder,” she said. “I’m a country girl, so I had to make a commitment to move to the city to be able to train, leaving behind friends and family.” While she doesn’t see herself as a role model, Tapper said it’s a bonus if she inspires other athletes to push themselves."_
> 
> OK, Non-Standard-Issue Army, these are just a few of our brothers and sisters that have made it to the very, very top. Let's support their achievments, get excited about strength, about overcoming our bodies, about how unbelievably sexy they are (for real though: aren't they damn gorgeous?!? Hel-lo, sex appeal)!! If there is one of our Army I haven't mentioned yet, please leave their name in a comment so we can get geared up and stand right behind 'em. Every Army needs officers, and these are some of our very finest.


End file.
